San Antonio this week: Ray Wylie Hubbard turns 80 at Gruene Hall, plus Eli Young Band, Sara Evans and Kevin Fowler

A two-night birthday party in Gruene leads a week heavy on country, from Helotes to Seguin, with a ska-punk chaser downtown on Sunday.

Clear your Friday. Ray Wylie Hubbard is turning 80, and he's throwing the party at Gruene Hall, with enough of Texas music's regulars on the bill that the rafters will be doing some work.

This week's calendar around San Antonio leans hard toward country and Americana, and the best of it lands Thursday through Saturday. Here's where to point the truck.

Thursday, Nov 12 — Corey Kent at John T. Floore Country Store, Helotes, 7pm. Floore's is out on the edge of town and the drive is part of it. Kent gets the week going on Thursday, so you can save the weekend for the big nights. Tickets

Friday, Nov 13 — Ray Wylie Hubbard & Friends at Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, 8pm. Gruene Hall bills this one as an 80th birthday celebration, with Cody Canada, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen on hand. Gruene Hall went up in 1878, which makes it a fitting room to celebrate a long run in. Tickets

Friday, Nov 13 — Eli Young Band at Seguin Schoolyard, Seguin, 7pm. If New Braunfels is sold out or too far, head east on I-10 instead. The Eli Young Band brings its radio-ready country-rock to Seguin the same night. Tickets

Friday, Nov 13 — Sara Evans at Stable Hall, 7pm. Evans has been out all year on her We Got the Beat tour. Friday she brings it to the Pearl's big room. Tickets

Saturday, Nov 14 — Ray Wylie Hubbard at Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, 9pm, $59.50. Night two of the birthday stand brings in a different crowd of friends: Hayes Carll, Kelley Mickwee, Eliza Gilkyson, Cody Canada and Randy Rogers. If you can only make one night, check the names and pick the one you like. Tickets

Saturday, Nov 14 — Tanner Usrey at John T. Floore Country Store, Helotes, 8:30pm, $20. At twenty bucks, it's the cheapest good Saturday on the list, and it's under Floore's roof. Tickets

Saturday, Nov 14 — Kevin Fowler at Thirsty Horse Saloon, 9pm. Fowler is a Texas dance-hall regular, and a Saturday night at the Thirsty Horse is his kind of room: boots on, beer cold, two-step ready. Tickets

Sunday, Nov 15 — Streetlight Manifesto at The Aztec Theatre, 8pm. Done with fiddles? End the week downtown under the Aztec's ornate ceiling, where the horns of Streetlight Manifesto come with The Bridge City Sinners opening. Tickets

If you can only make one night, check the names and pick the one you like.

Most of the week's country sits outside the city limits: Helotes, Seguin and New Braunfels are all a drive. Friday has three good options that overlap, so pick one and commit. The safest call is Gruene, where a Texas songwriter is turning 80 in a hall that's older than anyone in it.

See you down the road.

Sources: Ray Wylie Hubbard & Friends: 80th Birthday Celebration — Gruene Hall (gruenetexas.com); Gruene Hall events, Nov 13, 2026 (gruenetexas.com); Gruene Hall — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Sara Evans: We Got the Beat Tour — Stable Hall (Tixr) (tixr.com); Sara Evans: We Got the Beat Tour — People's Bank Theatre (peoplesbanktheatre.com); Sara Evans brings country hits and Louisiana love to Cenla — KALB (kalb.com)